Grand Festivals and Holidays of Nepal
Nepal is known as the "state of festivals". Almost every few days there is a festival, sometimes even a festival followed by a festival, which is rare in the world. There are more than 300 national festivals in Nepal. Few countries in the world like Nepal stop daily work for festivals. Nepalese spend almost one-third of their time preparing for festivals every year. Most Nepalese festivals originate from the worship of various gods. The government stipulates that there are more than 50 holidays.
There are almost all kinds of festivals throughout the year. So if you travel to Nepal, especially to the Kathmandu Valley, you will definitely encounter a certain festival. For tourists, you can experience the local religious culture and traditional customs by participating in different Nepalese holidays and festivals. Here’s a list of the 15 grand festivals of Nepal…
Lhosar
Date:
On the first day of Lhosar, Nepalese often drink Chaang, an alcoholic beverage. The next day, Nepalese would go to a nearby temple, where monks would perform traditional rituals to expel evil. On the third day, Nepalese gather with family and friends to celebrate the holiday.
Maha Shivaratri
Date:
The best place to go for this festival is Pashupatinath Temple, a temple of Lord Shiva at the east of Kathmandu, which is also known as the "Temple of Burning Corpse".
Holi/Fagun Purnima
Date:
During the festival, not only do family members sprinkle the red powder on each other's faces or heads to give best wishes but also people walking on the street throw pink powder on each other no matter whether they know each other or not. In recent years, apart from sprinkling red powder, people also use water guns, balloons and other items filled with red liquid. Don't be offended if you get drenched with red, because Nepalese people regard the color red as a symbol of good luck.
Nepali New Year/Bisket Jatra
Date:
Nepali New Year usually falls between April 11th and 15th in the Gregorian calendar. Due to the multi-ethnic and deep-rooted traditions, Nepal actually has 9 different New Years. But the New Year on Nepali Sambat (Nepali lunar calendar) is considered as the national New Year, which brings a kind of symbol of unity in a vast diversity of languages, cultures and histories. At Hindu temples across Nepal, crowds gather for morning prayer and provide offerings to the gods. Then, the faithful believers would circuit the temples counterclockwise and ring the bells.
Buddha Jayanti
Date:
Naga Panchami
Date:
Nepalese Hindus look for holes where snakes might be found and then visit these holes regularly, placing milk, bananas and other foods that the snakes might like.
Rakshya Bandhan /Janai Purnima
Date:
On this day, Hindu men all over the world, especially those of the Brahmin and Chhettri castes, will replace the sacred cords on their wrists or necks(given by Hindu ritual Bratabandhan). Gosainkunda, not far from Kathmandu, is the biggest and liveliest site of the festival.
Gai Jatra
Date:
The Gai Jatra began in the Middle Ages as a religious social event for people to miss their dead loved ones. On this day, families who have lost someone are all leading cows to participate in the parade. Families without a cow can let the boy dress up as a cow and pray for the deceased. They believe that cows can lead the dead to heaven. The most lively places are the three ancient capitals in the Kathmandu Valley: Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square. There is also equal rights march for gay and transgender groups on the day.
Krishna Janmastami/ Gaura Festival
Date:
Hartalika Teej
Date:
Hindu women in Nepal celebrate Hartalika Teej every year on public holidays to commemorate the marriage of Lord Shiva and Hindu goddess Hartalika. Hartalika Teej arrives on the third day of the full moon of the Hindu month Bhadrapada (August/September in the Gregorian calendar). This holiday marks the beginning of the monsoon season in Nepal.
On the first day, women dressed in red dresses gathered together to sing and dance. Feast all day until midnight, when it's the beginning of fasting on the second day. Some of them don't not even drink a sip of water all day and go to the Shiva Temple to worship and pray. In the evening of the next day, a lamp stayed on all night. Then on the third day of Rishi Panchami, the women will bathe in the sacred river Bagmati and pray afterward, asking for blessings and forgiveness.
>> See more about Teej Festival
Rishi Panchami
Date:
Rishi Panchami is actually the last day of Hartalika Teej. During the festival, women pray on the banks of the river. On this day, women will worship the seven saints and ask them to forgive them for their sins during menstruation throughout the year. Hinduism believes that menstruation is impure, so women are prohibited from participating in all religious activities during menstruation.
Indra Jatra
Date:
Indra Jatra is an important annual festival in Nepal, especially in the capital Kathmandu.
“Indra” is the name of Hinduism`s rain god and "Jatra" means "parade". Therefore, Indra Jatra is a parade to commemorate the Hindu god Indra.
The festival commemorates the moment when Indra came down from heaven to earth in search of herbs. Every night during the Indra festival, oil lamps are lit on the altar and ancient palace buildings around Durbar Square in Kathmandu. Every night, on the platform in front of the Kumari Temple, there are performances of ten human incarnations of Vishnu, who's a guardian god of Hinduism. On the afternoon before the full moon, fanatical believers gather near Hanuman Dhoka Palace to wait for the Living Goddess.
Dashain
Date: ~
Dashain is to commemorate the victory of the goddess Durga over the Demon Mahiha. According to legend, Durga, the goddess, with nine hands and ten incarnations, dressed in a red robe, riding a lion, holding different weapons and magic weapons in each hand, and backed by the gods, fought fiercely against the demons for nine days and nights.
She finally defeated the demon on the tenth day. "Dashain" means "tenth" in Nepali. The night of the ninth day is called " the night of Dashain", and the tenth day is called “the tenth day of victory”. On the third or fourth day of the festival, the eldest in the family points out the "Tika" on the foreheads of the younger generations, symbolizing auspiciousness. People also visit relatives and friends and taste delicious food at this festival.
>> See more about Dashain Festival
Tihar
Date: ~
The Tihar festival originates in India, known for its colorful lights. Tihar is celebrated by worshipping Goddess Laxmi with vigour and enthusiasm. The five-day festival begins in late October or early November. On the first day, Nepalese worship the crow; on the next day, worship the dog; on the third day, worship Goddess Laxmi; on the fourth day, worship the cow; on the fifth day, point auspicious tika on the forehead of brothers praying for their long life. In the latter part of the festival, it's said that the goddess of wealth Laxmi will descend to the world, so Nepalis greet her with brilliant lights. It is also a good experience to see Kathmandu from the Monkey Temple that night.
>> See more about Tihar Festival
Chaath Puja
Date: